Lawyers already rounding up clients for Wine Country fires

1of58PG&E continues to repair the power across the area, here in the Wikiup neighborhood, a week after the start of the massive fires in Santa Rosa, Ca. as seen on Monday October 16, 2017.Photo: Michael Macor / The Chronicle

2of58Smoke from the Tubbs Fire rises high into the air as the firestorm continues to burn out of control near Santa Rosa, Calif. on Wednesday Oct. 11, 2017.Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle

3of58Petaluma firefighter Greg Taylor takes a break at a large home that burned in The Ranch subdivision in Sonoma, Calif., on Saturday, October 14, 2017.Photo: Scott Strazzante, The Chronicle

4of58Santa Cruz firefighters' Josiah Gist and Ian Adams carry a hose over the pool of a large home that burned in The Ranch subdivision in Sonoma, Calif., on Saturday, October 14, 2017.Photo: Scott Strazzante, The Chronicle

5of58The chimney is all that remains standing at a large home that burned in The Ranch subdivision in Sonoma, Calif., on Saturday, October 14, 2017.Photo: Scott Strazzante, The Chronicle

6of58Three firefighters look at a large home that burned in The Ranch subdivision in Sonoma, Calif., on Saturday, October 14, 2017.Photo: Scott Strazzante, The Chronicle

7of58A firefighter walks through what remains of a large home that burned in The Ranch subdivision in Sonoma, Calif., on Saturday, October 14, 2017.Photo: Scott Strazzante, The Chronicle

8of58Josiah Gist (right) joins fellow Santa Cruz firefighters in using pool water in firefighting efforts at a large home that burned in The Ranch subdivision in Sonoma, Calif., on Saturday, October 14, 2017.Photo: Scott Strazzante, The Chronicle

9of58Smoke in the hills east of Sonoma, Calif., on Saturday, October 14, 2017.Photo: Scott Strazzante, The Chronicle

11of58Search and Rescue personnel look for human remains in the Journey's End Mobile Home park following the damage caused by the Tubbs Fire on Oct. 13, 2017 in Santa Rosa. Twenty four people have died in wildfires that have burned tens of thousands of acres and destroyed over 3,500 homes and businesses in several Northern California counties.Photo: Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images

12of58A CalFire firefighter uses a hand tool as he monitors a firing operation while battling the Tubbs Fire on Oct. 12, 2017 near Calistoga, Calif. At least thirty one people have died in wildfires that have burned tens of thousands of acres and destroyed over 3,500 homes and businesses in several Northern California counties. Photo: Justin Sullivan, Getty Images

13of58A stairwell smolders as a home burns during the Tubbs Fire on Oct. 12, 2017 near Calistoga, Calif. At least thirty one people have died in wildfires that have burned tens of thousands of acres and destroyed over 3,500 homes and businesses in several Northern California counties. Photo: Justin Sullivan, Getty Images

14of58CalFire firefighters monitor a firing operation as they battle the Tubbs Fire on Oct. 12, 2017 near Calistoga, Calif. At least thirty one people have died in wildfires that have burned tens of thousands of acres and destroyed over 3,500 homes and businesses in several Northen California counties.Photo: Justin Sullivan, Getty Images

15of58Firefighters try to extinguish a house fire during the Tubbs Fire on Oct. 12, 2017 near Calistoga, Calif. At least thirty one people have died in wildfires that have burned tens of thousands of acres and destroyed over 3,500 homes and businesses in several Northern California counties. Photo: Justin Sullivan, Getty Images

16of58CalFire firefighters monitor a firing operation as they battle the Tubbs Fire on Oct.12, 2017 near Calistoga, Calif. At least thirty one people have died in wildfires that have burned tens of thousands of acres and destroyed over 3,500 homes and businesses in several Northern California counties. Photo: Justin Sullivan, Getty Images

17of58A CalFire firefighter uses a hose to monitor hot spots during a firing operation while battling the Tubbs Fire on Oct. 12, 2017 near Calistoga, Calif. At least thirty one people have died in wildfires that have burned tens of thousands of acres and destroyed over 3,500 homes and businesses in several Northern California counties. Photo: Justin Sullivan, Getty Images

18of58Firefighters try to extibguish a house fire during the Tubbs Fire on Oct. 12, 2017 near Calistoga, Calif. At least thirty one people have died in wildfires that have burned tens of thousands of acres and destroyed over 3,500 homes and businesses in several Northern California counties. Photo: Justin Sullivan, Getty Images

19of58Jimmie Allen, pries a piece of metal that had melted during the fire and had solidified next to his car in Coffey Park on Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2017 in Napa. Allen's home in Coffey Park burned in the Tubbs Fire.Photo: Lea Suzuki, The Chronicle

20of58Smoke from the Tubbs Fire rises high into the air as the firestorm continues to burn out of control near Santa Rosa on Wednesday Oct. 11, 2017.Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle

21of58BART police officer Trabanino mans a Tubbs Fire checkpoint on Bennett Valley Rd. in Santa Rosa. on Thursday, Oct. 12, 2017. He was telling a evacuee that the area is still closed to residents.Photo: Noah Berger, Special to The Chronicle

22of58Homes leveled by the Tubbs fire line the Coffey Park neighborhood of Santa Rosa on Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2017.Photo: Noah Berger / Special to The Chronicle 2017

23of58Rubble lines the interior of a K-mart store scorched by the Tubbs fire in Santa Rosa on Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2017.Photo: Noah Berger, Special to The Chronicle

25of58A primary school classroom at St. Rose School is seen with damages caused by the Tubbs fire in Santa Rosa on Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2017.Photo: Alex Washburn, The Chronicle

26of58Karen Balestieri and Heidi Facciano (left to right) marvel at a pond of live koi fish which survived the Tubbs fire in the neighborhood referred to by locals as 'old fountaingrove' in Santa Rosa on Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2017.Photo: Alex Washburn, The Chronicle

27of58A helicopter makes a water drop on flames from the Tubbs fire on a hill as it gets closer to homes off of Bennett Valley Road on Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2017 in Santa Rosa. Photo: Lea Suzuki, The Chronicle

28of58Brian Kitchen (left) and son Tarreyl Kitchen (right) wash their hands off in a pool after sifting through the remains of their house after it was destroyed in the Tubbs fire in the Coffey Park neighborhood of Santa Rosa on Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2017.Photo: Gabrielle Lurie, The Chronicle

29of58A wall stands at a Chanterelle Circle home destroyed by the Tubbs fire in the Fountaingrove area of Santa Rosa on Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2017.Photo: Noah Berger, Special to The Chronicle

30of58Smoke from the Tubbs Fire rises high into the air as the firestorm continues to burn out of control near Santa Rosa on Wednesday Oct. 11, 2017.Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle

31of58Firefighters work to contain the Tubbs fire at the Overlook apartment complex off of Bicentennial Way in Santa Rosa on Monday, Oct. 9, 2017.Photo: Gabrielle Lurie/The Chronicle

32of58A resident rushes to save his home as an out of control wildfire moves through the area on October 9, 2017 in Glen Ellen, Calif.Photo: Justin Sullivan, Getty Images

43of58People watch the sunset through smoke in the air from a fire on Mount Veeter in Napa on Tuesday, October 10, 2017.Photo: Elijah Nouvelage, Special to the Chronicle

44of58Front gate to a property along WarnSprings Rd. in Glen Ellen on Oct. 9, 2017. Photo: Peter DaSilva/Special to The Chronicle

45of58Brian Kitchen (left) and son Tarreyl Kitchen (right) wash their hands off in a pool after sifting through the remains of their house after it was destroyed in the Tubbs fire in the Coffey Park neighborhood of Santa Rosa on Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2017.Photo: Gabrielle Lurie/The Chronicle

46of58Police officers search for signs of Karen Aycock, a Coffey Park resident who has been missing since the Tubbs fire roared through her neighborhood, in Santa Rosa on Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2017.Photo: Noah Berger/Special to The Chronicle

47of58Nikki Albrecht takes a break in front of her mother's destroyed home at the scene of the Tubbs Fire in Santa Rosa on Monday Oct. 9, 2017. Massive wildfires ripped through Napa and Sonoma counties early Monday, destroying hundreds of homes and businesses on Monday Oct. 9, 2017Photo: Michael Macor/The Chronicle

48of58Smoke from the Tubbs fire is seen off of Bicentennial Way in Santa Rosa on Monday, Oct. 9, 2017.Photo: Gabrielle Lurie, The Chronicle

49of58The remains of the homes in the Coffey Park neighborhood are seen from the air in Santa Rosa on Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2017.Photo: Elijah Nouvelage, Special to the Chronicle

50of58The remains of the homes in the Coffey Park neighborhood are seen from the air in Santa Rosa on Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2017.Photo: Elijah Nouvelage, Special to the Chronicle

51of58Smoldering fires are seen in the remains of the Hilton Sonoma Wine Country hotel in Santa Rosa on Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2017.Photo: Elijah Nouvelage, Special to the Chronicle

52of58Alameda County Sheriff deputy carries in oxygen tanks to one of the wards at the at the Sonoma Developmental Center during a mandatory evacuation as the Tubbs Fire threatens the town of Glen Ellen, Calif. on Monday, Oct. 9, 2017.Photo: Peter DaSilva, Special to The Chronicle

53of58Maria Norris and her husband Keith lost their home in the fire, in Santa Rosa on Monday October 9, 2017. Massive wildfires ripped through Napa and Sonoma counties early Monday, destroying hundreds of homes and businesses on Monday Oct. 9, 2017Photo: Michael Macor/The Chronicle

54of58Keith Norris shows what his car destroyed in the fire looked like before the fire, in Santa Rosa on Monday Oct. 9, 2017. Massive wildfires ripped through Napa and Sonoma counties early Monday, destroying hundreds of homes and businesses on Monday October 9, 2017Photo: Michael Macor/The Chronicle

55of58Homeowner Phil Rush looks at the remains of his home destroyed by wildfire in Santa Rosa on Oct. 11, 2017. Rush said he and his wife and dog escaped with only their medication, a bag of dog food when flames overtook their entire neighborhood on October 9. The toll from Northern California's ranging wildfires continued to grow as officials said the fires destroyed up to 2,000 structures and killed at least 17 people. Photo: ROBYN BECK, AFP/Getty Images

56of58Arilyn Edwards, 6, stands beside her bike in front of the rubble of her Santa Rosa home on Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2017. The bike, which was a gift for her 6th birthday on Oct. 6, was destroyed as fire ripped through her neighborhood on Sunday evening.Photo: Guy Wathen, The Chronicle

57of58Brian Gilman displays antique tea cups he found while digging through the rubble of his mother's home on Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2017 in Santa Rosa. "She lost everything but the clothes she was wearing, her medicine, everything else is gone except for the two cups she asked for. According to Gilman the cups are over 200 years old.Photo: Guy Wathen, The Chronicle

58of58John Palmer, left, who escaped as flames surrounded his home, covers his eyes while waiting to return to his burned residence on Monday, Oct. 9, 2017, in Glen Ellen, Calif. At right is a resident who declined to be identified.Photo: Noah Berger/Special to The Chronicle

It didn’t take long for lawyers to descend on Santa Rosa.

On Monday night, Mitchell Sugarman attended a legal seminar at the Santa Rosa Hyatt that he thought would be a public service for fire victims. When he got there, he was disappointed to learn the hosts were three Southern California law firms angling to sign up clients for a potential lawsuit against Pacific Gas and Electric Co. for its possible — but unproven — role in the Wine Country fires.

Sugarman, who lost his home in the Rincon Valley neighborhood near Santa Rosa, got the email from a neighbor, who copied other neighbors. “I thought this was going to be like a public assistance type of thing: what you should be thinking about, who you should contact about this or that. That’s what the local assistance centers are doing. I knew they were lawyers, but I thought they would help you decide whether to rebuild or flee,” he said.

Included in the packet of information attendees received was a blank attorney-client fee agreement. The form said the client would pay one-third of any gross settlement obtained up to 30 days before the first trial date or 40 percent thereafter.

Half of Santa Rosa neighborhood suffers fire damage, the other does notKTVU

A structure burns in NapaSan Francisco Chronicle

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Wine Country Fires

Video: San Francisco Chronicle

Sugarman left after a couple of hours. “I felt vulnerable,” he said. “I think a lot of people there were feeling vulnerable. We all just lost our homes. Now there’s this trio of guys who are standing there saying, ‘Look, most people are underinsured and we are here to help you.’ ”

John Fiske, an attorney with Baron & Budd, said at least 175 people attended the event, which his firm sponsored along with two others, Dixon Diab & Chambers and Singleton Law Firm. The firms, which advertise as “California Fire Lawyers,” are planning another such event next week.

Fiske said the seminar “absolutely violates no ethical rules. I would take major exception to anyone who suggests” it does.

California law prohibits lawyers from soliciting clients at an accident scene, a hospital, or on the way to a hospital; soliciting clients who, due to their physical, emotional or mental state, may not have reasonable judgment about hiring an attorney; and seeking employment by mail unless the letter and envelope are clearly labeled as an advertisement, according to the State Bar of California.

Emergency situation or not, lawyers generally cannot solicit new clients face to face or over the phone. They can advertise, as long as their advertising is not “deceptive or misleading,” said James Ham, a lawyer in South Pasadena who represents lawyers and provides legal compliance advice.

“If lawyers come into a community, announce they are going to hold a seminar or presentation ... if the public voluntarily comes, there is nothing wrong with that,” Ham said.

The email Sugarman received promised that “experienced wildfire attorneys” would discuss insurance claims, Federal Emergency Management Agency assistance, potential litigation and other topics, and then said: “After a brief presentation, attorneys and former insurance professionals will be available for one-on-one sessions to answer any questions.”

At the seminar, the attorneys provided only general information about FEMA programs and said they would not represent anyone in claims against insurance companies, Sugarman said.

“They talked about suing PG&E and the company PG&E subcontracts with for tree work,” Sugarman said. The attorneys would represent fire victims under a mass tort, which is an alternative to a class-action suit, where many plaintiffs individually sue the same or several defendants.

Fiske said the event was “an information meeting for folks who have suffered a loss in order to help them navigate what to do next.” He said he “can’t get into too much detail” because some attendees are now clients or potential clients and he owes them a duty of confidentiality.

“We did have several people retain our firm for purposes of investigating the cause of the fire and recovering uninsured portions of their losses,” Fiske said. There is a “likelihood PG&E could be responsible for some of the fires.”

Fiske said the event was requested by “community leaders” who asked the law firms to “put together an invitation for people” they knew. “We sent it to maybe three people total,” but the email was shared widely. He would not name the community leaders.

The law firms paid for the event. “We were expecting maybe 30. When we saw over 175, we were surprised,” Fiske said.

Sugarman said the room appeared to be set up “for a couple hundred at least. There was food and drinks for a couple hundred people. It was kind of nice food.” Served banquet style, it included a variety of cheeses, sliced beef and roasted vegetables.

Bruce Budner, who teaches law ethics at UC Berkeley Law School, said that without seeing the invitation or knowing what was said at the event, it’s impossible to say whether the firms acted unethically. But he hasn’t heard anything that suggests they did.

“We have to distinguish between bad taste and unethical. Sure, the timing of this may put some people off. Maybe for good reason,” Budner said. If he were defending the firms in the court of public opinion, “I might say sure, this may seem premature to some, but the sooner a lawsuit gets filed, the sooner evidence can be protected.”

On Tuesday, the Santa Monica law firm Robins Cloud filed a lawsuit against PG&E in Superior Court in San Francisco on behalf of Wayne and Jennifer Horvell, who lost their home in Santa Rosa. It alleges that PG&E failed to properly maintain power lines and properly trim vegetation so when the two came in contact, it sparked the Wine Country fires. “This is one of thousands of individual cases that will be filed,” attorney Bill Robins said. “We expect to file a bunch more. We want to make sure evidence is preserved.”

PG&E said it is focused on “supporting firefighting efforts to contain the fires and protect life and property. Once it is safe to do so, restoring power and gas service safely and as quickly as possible will be our priority. We aren’t going to speculate about any of the causes of the fires and will cooperate with the reviews by any relevant regulator or agency.”

A coalition of private and public legal organizations have created a hotline to provide legal aid to California fire victims on subjects such as landlord-tenant issues; life, medical and property insurance; emergency aid applications; home repairs; mortgages; and document replacement. The number is (415) 575-3120.

Additional fire-related resources can be found on the State Bar’s website: www.calbar.ca.gov

Kathleen Pender writes the Net Worth column in The San Francisco Chronicle. She explains how the big business and economic news of the day affect a household's net worth. She covers saving, investing, debt, taxes, housing, mortgages, retirement plans, employment and unemployment with a focus on issues specific to California and the Bay Area.

When it comes to big financial decisions, she believes that the simplest answer is almost always the best and that people would stay out of money trouble if they didn't get involved in things they can't understand. Pender welcomes questions from readers and frequently answers them in her column.

She majored in business journalism at the University of Missouri-Columbia and was a Knight-Bagehot fellow in business journalism at Columbia University.